Update from here. Took 13" rMBP to Apple Store and showed tech my "can you read this" image retention. He wrote up the issue as needing to be repaired or replaced then asked I call Apple Care due to "no replacement no parts" in store (I have a custom build... basically Core i7).

While sitting a the busy genius bar, 1 hour and 1,2,3,4 different phone tech's later we agreed on a 'return/replace' solution but with a warning from Apple that (like the support article suggests) the issue may again be evident on the subsequent model. I said "I'll take my chances" and indeed we shall see how the replacement fares.

My desire to have this addressed by replacement/repair is due to the fact that, along with the retention issue, the display clearly has yellowish patches in two distinct areas of the display. Along the bottom, left & right, just inside the end of the hinge, for which I am "not impressed by any measure".

I noticed today some obvious image retention after opening the new Adobe CS6 apps, which all have grey panels with grey backgrounds.

Wow it is so obvious. When I switch apps right now to After Effects I see exactly what I'm typing, at least the first few sentences.

Is it really necessary to order a replacement though? It lasts a few minutes but doesn't seem to be permanent, otherwise I would have ordered a replacement already from all of the clutter.

I notice a lot of people being picky, ordering a replacement, then there's 1 missing pixel, ordering a replacement, then yellow tint on the next one, etc. So I'm pretty happy with mine aside from this problem.

So the temporary image burn-in should be okay, correct? And in worst/best case you ask Applecare to fix it in a year, which by then they will have more reliable replacements I assume.

I just want to get my work done and not deal with migrating over and dealing with additional replacements and the accompanying possible problems. If I were to take this computer in I would rather just get a new iMac, but I doubt Apple can accommodate that sort of trade-in.

I left the checkerboard image for approx. 30 mins for fun ( while I was taking lunch ). Yep, the image was definitely persisted on the the grey background... still, I am not worried or bothered because that's not a "real-life usage scenario" in my case ( not to mention that I normally use a "funky" black and white wallpaper that makes it even harder to spot even if it was there ). Normally my screen would turn off after 5 mins of idling... when does it idle? Well, almost never...

I constantly do stuff and move things around... things don't really have a chance to be persisted. This is my use case, but I can understand the frustration of some who just leave the notebook on ( screen too ) and go take a walk in a park and then come back... or start some long encoding and just leave it running ( or whatever else ).

I actually experienced IR on other IPS panels ( custom build desktops... PCs ) before too and even on iMacs ( not my own )... I will not say it's "normal", all I know is that I actually use my notebook when it's turned on and again, IR is not an issue since it can only happen when I willingly force it.

I constantly do stuff and move things around... things don't really have a chance to be persisted. This is my use case, but I can understand the frustration of some who just leave the notebook on ( screen too ) and go take a walk in a park and then come back... or start some long encoding and just leave it running ( or whatever else ).

When I first got my computer, I left the same checkerboard pattern for 1 hour straight and did not see anything even on extremely dark (not black) background.

So I proceeded with my "usual" work load, which is write stuffs in XCode for hours (so the XCode window is maximized and static for many hours on end). That happened all the way until my 3rd month. To my surprise, it showed some very slight retention on the first day.

I wasn't bothered at all then. It actually took longer than 2 hours for just a vague silhouette to be left behind. And it was usually of a plain white background against something that's dark... like the edge of a window with the dark shadow underneath.

Then a week later, it took just 30 seconds of anything white on the screen for the image to be imprinted anywhere. It was plainly visible against the linen of Mission Control.

So it's not just the checkerboard pattern that would trigger it. And also, I think there are legit reasons for people to have the same thing displayed on the screen for long period of time. I can't just change my work habit and swipe between desktops every 30 seconds just so I don't see residues of my work in Mission Control. I think that's just excessive.

Not to say that you should be concerned, but... be warned. I think it does get worse over time, so... take extreme caution. I couldn't bear it anymore so I replaced mine. Hope you have better luck.

I noticed today some obvious image retention after opening the new Adobe CS6 apps, which all have grey panels with grey backgrounds.

Wow it is so obvious. When I switch apps right now to After Effects I see exactly what I'm typing, at least the first few sentences.

Is it really necessary to order a replacement though? It lasts a few minutes but doesn't seem to be permanent, otherwise I would have ordered a replacement already from all of the clutter.

I notice the same with CS6 apps, I've changed the preferences to either fully dark interface or light grey depending on the app to mitigate it, it didn't really show up until after having the notebook for a few weeks.

I generally work fast enough and switch apps and layouts often enough that I don't have anything static on the screen for too long that causes the issue. When I do have retention from leaving my machine by itself with the screen on for 10-15 minutes and it distracts me I have a relatively quick solution to get rid of any image ghosted on the screen(which I have noticed depending on the case it can last for 5+ minutes). Go to youtube and look for a "stuck pixel fix" video and play it full screen for a minute or so, it quickly flashes red green and blue over and over, after it gives the pixels a colour changing workout there is no more ghost image.

In my case it was not the IR that caught my eye at first, it was instead portions of the screen that had distinct yellow patches all along the bottom edge of the display. It looks cheap and shoddy and not what I'd expect from what is touted as a "stunning display".

Searching for information about the yellow patches lead me to look into the IR issue and though my IR would be livable, the two issues pushed me over the edge of complacency to ask Apple for help.

If the replacement also has IR to the same extent that this one does, but does not have the yellow patches, I'm likely to just keep it.

Not to say that you should be concerned, but... be warned. I think it does get worse over time, so... take extreme caution. I couldn't bear it anymore so I replaced mine. Hope you have better luck.

If it does ever get extremely bad, I'll just get it replaced.
Frankly, I have my doubts that it will get worse or visible so fast.
... but sure, whatever, I have better things to worry about than this.
Everything is fine so far, I have no complains.

It does burn in... Today, some five months after I bought it, I've noticed burn-in for the first time. Desktop wallpaper with large text was open for like ten hours or so, which seems rather extreme for a burn-in test (I used the 13" screen as a second monitor without, well, using it).

I closed the mac, transported it, reopened it after an hour or so and could rather clearly read the wallpaper's text on Photoshop's dark background. It's quite interesting that the burn-in seems to last forever if you turn the mac off. The burn in disappeared after a very short while of normal usage. It was the first and only time I actively noticed burn in, so I guess it isn't as strong or bothersome as (it was?) on the 15" rMBPs.

Since I never noticed it before, I don't really care. If I could decide again I'd get a 11" MBA, though, because it's lighter and you don't really notice the Retina Screen anyway. I use my iPad Mini much more than I use my 13" rMBP